Legalizing Marijuana Ethics

Within the United States, there has been a controversy over the ethics of legalizing marijuana and other cannabis products. Recently, there has been a surge of anecdotal evidence in social media and the news, which demonstrate the efficacy of marijuana in treating certain medical conditions such as epilepsy and anxiety as well as combating nausea and appetite suppression in chemotherapy patients. Furthermore, with the epidemic of heroin overdoses, the prescription of medical marijuana as an alternative to addictive narcotics for pain management has also gained appeal. In order to evaluate the legalization of marijuana on ethical grounds, marijuana’s efficacy in treating conditions, as well as potential harms it may pose to patients must be
Foremost, as with most drugs, marijuana use poses the prospect of addiction. Among habitual users, twenty five to fifty percent run the risk of becoming addicted if they smoke marijuana on a daily basis. Moreover, cannabis dependence is achievable. Withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, craving and anxiety have been reported in those who have attempted to abstain from use (Volkow et al., 2014). The probability of dependence should evoke exhaustive deliberation amongst legislatures, since it generates many questions. If medical marijuana use were federally legalized, should the government restrict patients’ long-term accessibility to this drug? Also, if legalization of recreational use is being considered, is marijuana dependence as pernicious as the dependencies of other legal recreational drugs such as alcohol and nicotine? Perhaps further research should be conducted to investigate the relative detriments of cannabis, alcohol and nicotine dependencies in order to encourage an impartial resolution to these
The beneficence of cannabinoids is rich with evidence and should garner more proponents for the legalization of the medical use of marijuana. In regards to pediatric treatment, the benefits from the medical use of marijuana should exceed the liability of impairing neural connectivity. As for legalization of recreational use, it seems that more studies should be conducted to comparatively analyze the detriments of other legal recreational drugs to the detriments of marijuana before new legislation is considered. Nevertheless, if legislation does pass, it should be recommended that cannabis consumption should be limited to those who are 21 or